In the North of Croatia, close to the Slovenian border, lies a gem of the olden times. The ruins of Kalnik castle and the 5 teeth that protrude from the earth on its opposite hill. What awaits on this short (or longer) walk through the North of Croatia? Find out!
We start late on this sunny Sunday in early Spring - something I am entirely unused to, but will prove to be the wisest thing as our day develops. Huddled up in the car of a friend, we drive out of Zagreb and through the green woodlands of northern Croatia. About 1.5 hours after our departure, and a couple of very bumpy roads later, the castle - in all its glory - appears before our eyes, nestled in between several rock formations to both sides. It's hard to not get excited about the day that lays ahead of us, as we grab our backpacks and move towards the pearl we've encountered.
THE CASTLE
Protruding from the rocks of Vuklenec and Vranilec peaks, Kalnik castles towers over the lands of Northern Croatia. First mentioned in 1243, the fortress is assumed to having been of superior help defending the town of Kalnik against the Tatars, being pretty near damn impossible to intrude due to its location on a cliff and being built into stone.
Climbing up (for free!) we get a stunning view over the rolling hills of the surrounding towns, Sopron and Kalnik.
THE EASY HIKE
We decide to marvel at the castle from the outside for now, since there is a tad too many people for our taste, and so, we decide to take the trail number 3 that has us walking past uphill for a steady 15-20 minutes. It's still early in the year and the lush green hasn't quite come out of winter hibernation yet. But here and there, the trail is dotted with pink, blue and white blossoms - a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.
Although our destination is the viewpoint Peca, we somehow let ourselves be sidetracked on our trail by a sign that promises another lookout if we are willing to make a 10 minutes detour. We climb up the semi-steep hill and ... land at one of the most underwhelming (sorry, Croatia!) 'viewpoints' I have ever seen. Bracev vrh is surrounded by trees that are demolishing the sheer hope of seeing something beyond the mighty trees with their stripped branches. No matter, it was worth a try! Not every detour can be a rare find.
And so we follow the trail back to our initial path and walk leisurely for another 15 minutes, to the foot of Peca hill. A very steep (and due to last nights' rain slippery) path later, we find ourselves on the green plateau of Peca, which overlooks the hills and let's us peek all the way over the border to Slovenia. It's snack time - and with a view at that!
The trail from here on only gets easier, mostly due to the fact that we go down, down, down - all the way to the source of the stream flowing through the forest.
Well, that is, until we find our way back to our trail which leads us to the mountain lodge. Yup, everything we just walked down for a good 30 minutes we now have to climb up on the other slope. Luckily, the trail has been laid back so far, so that the steepness is manageable, and we get to marvel at the spring beauties on our way up.
THE 5 TEETH
We conclude our loop about 40 minutes later. Many of us decide to directly strive for the mountain lodge and get a late lunch, while three - arguably crazy - hikers choose to not only look at the 5 Zubi (teeth) that are protruding from the earth to our right hand side, and instead follow the difficult trail that has us climbing 5 of the 7 rock formations leading to the mountain lodge.
THE TOUGH ONE
The first two teeth are pretty easy to climb, which entices me to underestimate the difficulty of this trail, and so I decide to go on, wondering why half of our group refused to join.
I learn shortly after - more specifically on tooth number 3 - why. After two moderately easy formations to climb and some nice views over Varazdin county, we follow the trail to the third formation. Getting up is easy enough - sort of - getting down from it, however ...
In a weird combination of what I can only describe as an awkward crab walk in mid air, we are forced to climb down in between two rocks that build a narrow gorge. My friends make this one look easy, I, however, struggle with knowing where to put my foot next, as there are not many cracks protruding from the stone. With a little wiggling and winding, I make it out on the other end of the mouth and am spat out onto ... a tiny plateau overlooking more stones to climb down.
Adrenaline and fear run high from here on out. I know there is no way back due to this gorge, and so I have to climb up and down the highest tooth in this range. Rarely have my knees wobbled as hard as they do when I reach the crevice of the rock formation, but am rewarded with an absolutely stunning view over the castle on the other hand side, and the rock formations surrounding it
I let the boys climb the last two teeth alone - enough adrenaline, even for my taste, for today. Let me stress it here once more: Know your limits. It's nice to be brave and overcome your fears, but if the fear is all-consuming, listen to your body and stop. I decide to follow the trail that winds around the last teeth, following the boys and their ascents and descents, hoping that everybody will make it through okay.
The last tooth proves to be the trickiest to climb down - at least for visitors like us, as evidenced by some locals who resemble skilled mountain goats, almost running down the stonewalls. I direct the boys to the right trail from below, and shortly after, we also get to gorge ourselves on some piping hot bean stew from the mountain lodge.
A FAIR WARNING!
I urge you to be honest with yourself and your activity and skill level when it comes to 'the 5 teeth'. Even if your friends are trying to pursue you, if you are afraid of heights, not a skilled climber or simply afraid, do no attempt to climb these rock formations. While the hiking club in Croatia takes amazing care of the trails, it is on you to know your skill level. If you still want to experience the views, the upper two teeth are not as steep (but still require some climbing). Simply follow the educational trail that leads around the teeth, if you are feeling unsure or not up to the challenge.
Remember: Your safety comes first. Even as an experienced hiker that has had her fair share of adrenaline loaded situations, this one really got to me. There were portions on this climb where I did not feel safe and up to the challenge.
